NEW DELHI– The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Central government to consider a request for permission to travel to Yemen in an effort to negotiate a pardon for Nimisha Priya, an Indian nurse from Kerala facing execution for murder.
A Bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta was hearing a plea from the Save Nimisha Priya Action Council, which urged the Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to use diplomatic channels to help prevent Priya’s execution. She was convicted of killing Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mahdi in 2017.
Senior advocate R. Basant, representing the petitioner, told the court that although Priya’s execution—originally scheduled for July 16—has been temporarily stayed, travel to Yemen remains impossible without government approval due to an existing ban.
“Yemen is a country where not just anybody can go. There is a travel ban unless the government relaxes it,” Basant stated, requesting that two or three members of the petitioner group, along with a representative of a Kerala-based Islamic cleric, be allowed to travel for negotiations with the victim’s family.
While the bench declined to issue any judicial order compelling the Center, it asked the petitioners to formally present their request to the government for consideration.
Basant also asked the Center to send an official representative to participate in discussions about paying “diya”—blood money—an Islamic legal provision allowing the family of a murder victim to accept compensation in lieu of execution. However, Attorney General R. Venkataramani, representing the Union government, said he could not commit to such involvement at this stage.
“We don’t want something counter-productive happening. We want this woman to come out safely,” the Attorney General noted, emphasizing the delicacy of the matter.
The court scheduled the next hearing for August 14.
Meanwhile, the victim’s brother, Abdelfattah Mehdi, has publicly rejected any possibility of forgiveness, insisting that Priya must face execution for the crime.
On Thursday, the MEA reiterated that the Indian government is providing all possible support in the case.
“This is a very sensitive matter,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal at a press briefing. “We have provided legal assistance, appointed a lawyer, arranged regular consular visits, and remain in close contact with local authorities and the family.”
Priya’s mother, Prema Kumari, 57, has been at the forefront of efforts to save her daughter, including traveling to Yemen to negotiate a settlement. She is supported by the Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council, a network of non-resident Indian social workers active in the region. (Source: IANS)
